Wild At Heart
by wolfAD2312
Summary: Set two months after season 4 episode 10. Emilia knows her place in the world is in the wild as a wild Wolfblood. But living in harsh environments and Wolfbloods not so forgiving of humans can bring it's challenges. While dealing with being a young Wolfblood, surviving and her past, Emilia must find her place in the wild and her true destiny as a Fire Walker.
1. Chapter 1: A Hunter's Summer

"No! Matei help!" Emilia screamed, "MATEI!" Aran leapt up and moved to Emilia, who lay with her eyes closed, yet crying and screaming.

"Emilia! Emilia, wake up!" He said shaking the small cub. Emilia awoke, eyes yellow in fear.

"Ma... Matei? Aran," She whispered. Aran pulled her into a hug as if she was his daughter, or his sister.

"You're OK. I'm here. It's OK," He whispered, rocking slightly back and forth. The young wolf was alone with no-one to look after her, so Aran took the responsibility of caring for her. He gave her a home when he offered to share his tent with her. He fed her, protected her and kept her company, all like a second big brother. Aran's sister Meinir was gone, and of course Emilia left Matei behind, so Aran knew acting as a brother to Emilia would help both of them. Alric ran into the tent, eyes yellow and black veins pulsing.

"What is it? Danger? Is everyone OK?" He asked.

"Yes, Alpha. Emilia just had a nightmare again," Aran replied. Alric's wolf faded.

"OK, well, as long as everything is alright," He said and left back for his tent. Emilia looked at Aran with sad eyes. They had returned to hazel brown colour.

"I keep everyone awake, don't I?"

"They accept it. They know that being a Cerddwyr-Tan comes with plagues and horrors of memories that shouldn't be remembered, as well as having no fear of fire. Now, go back to sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow," Aran reassured. Emilia gave a small look of confusion.

"Why?" She asked. A curious little cub. Aran smiled slightly.

"You'll see."

BREAK

Sunlight streamed into the tent and almost blinded Emilia as she woke up. Summer. It had been very hot in the woods, and the wolves were shedding a lot of fur, even in human form, which was quite annoying. Full moons were shorter and extremely hot. Then of course there was water. Finding enough of it was hard, especially enough to hydrate the whole pack. Everyone had to work to find water. Emilia got up, and saw Aran had already left. She became curious again, wondering what was happening today. She walked out and immediately caught Aran's scent amongst all of the other wild Wolfbloods. Aran appeared and brought out dear meat. Breakfast. Emilia remembered the first time she had to eat raw meat. She actually quite enjoyed it. Emilia frowned at the meat as if was alive, and she had to eat it while it still breathed.

"What?" Aran asked, "Do you want something else? A pheasant, a pigeon, a rabbit?"

"What? No, it's just… I want to hunt my own food. I can't rely on you all my life to feed me," She replied, sick and tired of being useless.

"Well, you're in luck. That's what we're doing today," He said casually while Emilia munched on her breakfast. She stopped eating and looked at Aran.

"Really? Hunting? You're going to teach me how to hunt?" Emilia had been begging to hunt since she became part of the Wild Pack, but Aran was just like Matei; overprotective and wouldn't let her into anything that could be harmful to her. But that looked like it was about to change.

"Yep, so c'mon, eat, and let's go into the woods."

As soon as her food was gone, Aran and Emilia ran deeper into the woods, at wolf speed. It gave Emilia a rush, to let her wild-self run free. She was a wild Wolfblood. Just like Jana was a city Wolfblood. It seemed for the both of them, where they were born was not their true home. The complete opposite was. They slowed when they were deep enough into the woods, miles away from the safety of the pack.

"Right, hunting is usually done in a small pack, but it's always good to know how to hunt on your own, in case anything ever happens. Once you're good enough at hunting on your own, I'll convince the hunting group to let you join. I'm sure they will; they know cubs need to find their way in the world," Aran explained.

"Right, OK. So, what are we going to do?" Emilia asked, eager to begin her lesson.

"You could hunt in human form. Most of us do, but if you can't deal with it or don't have the stomach for it, you can always go wolf. Rhydian couldn't," He said. Emilia gave a confused look.

"Rhydian? As in one of Jana's old friends? He was in the wild pack?" Emilia asked, trying to remember what she had been told about Rhydian Morris.

"He was born here, but taken by humans when he was a young cub. He returned a few months after his first transformation. He hated it, so ran back to his old pack," He said.

"Maddy, Tom and Shannon," Emilia said, "And Jana followed, orders from her father. And then the whole thing about Alric killing Rhydian and Maddy stopping him and Alric disowning Jana and stuff. But eventually they forgave each other."

"Yes. It seems you are very knowledgeable about Jana's past life."

"She told us enough." Aran smiled.

"Well, enough of this nice history lesson, it's time for basics of hunting."

"Is there a handbook that comes with that?" Emilia asked sarcastically. Aran raised an eyebrow in question and curiosity, "Um… Never mind."

"Alright. First, you have to find the pray, either by scent, hearing, sight, or Eolas," He said.

"Eolas? I can't… I can't do that," She said, thinking of her previous city life.

"That's why I'm teaching you," He replied, as if everything was simple.

"How? I've been in the city too long. I can't do it. None of us can."

"You are wild at heart. You are a wild Wolfblood. You can do it. The city wolves all can too, it's just a bit harder for them," Aran said, trying to stop her from giving up completely. Aran didn't like quitters, "Crouch down to the floor." Aran and Emilia both went to the floor in an Eolas position, "Feel the nature around you. The sky, the trees, the grass, everything. Let your wolf run free. The wolf is leaving to find the one you seek. Be part of nature!" Emilia lost herself and it seemed she became nature. It was like she was the grass, she was the sky. She closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky. Opening her eyes, they turned yellow, and suddenly she was running back to the wild pack, and she saw her alpha, Alric, but she herself was stationary, in the same place she had been before. She snapped away from it and stood up abruptly, gasping. She grinned widely at Aran, her eyes still wolf-yellow. Aran grinned back.

"I did it! I saw Alric! I saw him! That was amazing!" She said, bubbling with happiness.

"Well done! You see! You can do it!" Aran was just as happy as she was. Emilia laughed, and her eyes faded back to its ordinary hazel.

"Well, I guess we should continue, eh?" Emilia said, still grinning.

"Yes, let's continue, Wild Wolf," He said.

BREAK

Aran had taught Emilia the basics of hunting and helped her master the abilities needed for hunting, like using all the senses, Eolas, speed, strength, agility, stamina and ability to become part of nature in a different way to Eolas. When they returned to the pack, Alric immediately called the whole pack to a meeting. Alric stood on a log above the gathered pack below. Aran was by his side on the ground, as Alric's second-in-command.

"I'm sure that many of you know what time it is," He began. Most people shuffled and mumbled in agreement, but Emilia had no clue, "It is of course that time once more when our cubs must prove themselves worthy of the pack. The Rite Of Passage!" A series of cheers and hoots and howls filled the air. Emilia suddenly realised what was going on, "Our cubs will embark on a challenge only the strongest survive. The cubs that return alive and completed the challenge will be honoured and become true members of the pack. Cubs that don't complete the challenge will have two choices. To leave the pack and find a new one, or continue living in the pack as an omega!" The Wolfbloods growled. No pack ever wanted omegas. Emilia's nerves started taking over. Jana had never mentioned this. How was she supposed to complete it? Or survive? She was the least wild in the entire pack. She stood no chance, "The cubs will each have a mentor and will be trained from now to the second full moon. After that, the challenge begins!" Another collection of howls. Excitement. The other cubs howled too; this is what they'd been waiting for their entire lives. Emilia didn't howl with them. She was too busy figuring out how on earth she was going to survive.


	2. Chapter 2: The Frightened And The Feared

"You should be pleased. At least you get to train, and with me training you, you'll have no problems whatsoever!" Aran was trying his best to cheer Emilia up, but she saw no chance of survival.

"This is The Hunger Games! I'll die!" She said, earning a very confused look from Aran.

"Oh, it's a book," She said. He was even more confused, "You know what? Never mind, it's not important." She sat down against a tree and sighed, the sun lighting up her face making her seem angelic. Aran studied the young cub. The Rite Of Passage was a test of strength for the cubs, to prove they were worthy of the pack. Seven cubs were in the pack at the current time, Emilia joining as the seventh. The challenge was fairly simple to explain; the cubs were taken far away from the pack, separated from each other and left to survive and find their way back to the pack. The problem was that it wasn't at all easy. The forest was miles long, and they only had five days to make their way back to the pack. Sometimes, the cubs never did return; sometimes they died. What was worse was that if they ever spotted another cub, they were allowed to attack each other. There were so many dangers, even for a pack, let alone a young cub. Emilia frowned and put her hands over her face.

"They all have the advantage over me! They've been wild all their life! I was a tame!" She said. What if this was it? What if she never saw Matei or Jana or TJ or Selina again? "Was this why you took me hunting this morning? To teach me, to help me train for the Rite of Passage?" Emilia watched Aran as he stood silent, still studying her.

"Yes. And I thought it was time anyway. It was just fate that led us into the Rite," He understood how she must of felt. Aran remembered back to when he was a cub, when he had taken part in the Rite of Passage. He and Meinir had worked together as a team, and that was what made them the betas of the pack. Alric and Jana, when they had gone through their Rite of Passage, led all of the cubs home, which proved them to be true alphas, even if their parents were alphas. Sometimes, Wolfbloods that had no alpha blood in their veins led all the cubs back, acted as an alpha. Aran knew he was not allowed to tell Emilia that. He wasn't allowed to tell any of the cubs. He thought carefully, remembering how to be a brother, "You have an advantage over _them_ ," He said, "First of all, you can transform into your wolf; they cannot! You know how to survive in the human world. If anything ever did happen, you have the human world to help, they don't. And you must remember what you are, Cerddwyr-Tan. That gives you a fate, a destiny, and you will find it. It makes you different. You must be one of the most powerful Wolfbloods in the world! You walk in both worlds, you are young yet can change into your wolf, and you've walked amongst fire. Even Jana is not that powerful. You have to believe in yourself. You stand so much of a chance! I know you can! So does Matei! So do your parents!" Aran was worried the last sentence was too far, but Emilia finally looked him in the eye, and the fear and uncertainty disappeared in a flash, replacing it with determination and strength. It was a visible change in her eyes; he could see how they became brave. Emilia had power, and she had the potential for great things, but she chose to hide them away. Aran knew he had to bring that out in her, not just once, but forever. Emilia stood up, confident, unbeatable.

"Well come on then, Aran. If I'm going to do this, it should be perfectly, don't you think?" She said, almost smugly. But that was OK with Aran. This was the confident cub, no, wolf, he needed. Who she truly was. Aran smiled back proudly.

"Matei would be proud."

BREAK

Aran had once again taken Emilia deeper into the woods. He was teaching her hunting properly, since she had been so good at using her abilities earlier. Both in wolf form, Aran spoke to Emilia. Speaking in wolf form was strange; it was like someone was talking into your head.

 _Find a scent. Something small. Let your wolf run wild._ Emilia crouched low to the ground, as Aran had taught her. She looked at her surroundings and saw every leaf, every bug, sensed the baby birds in the nest above her squirming around for food. It reminded Emilia of herself. A small, defenceless cub, who had to find her way in the world, or she wouldn't survive. Closing her yellow wolf eyes- in a completely un-wolf like way- she took one deep sniff. Immediately, the scent of a small rabbit filled her nostrils and she had a determination to catch it more than ever. She didn't even need Aran to tell her what to do. She knew. It was like the way you knew how to walk, the way you knew how to eat and drink. An instinct. A wolf instinct. Crouching low, Emilia shuffled forward silently, towards the scent of the rabbit. An old rabbit; but not old enough to be slow. The feeling Emilia had was strange. It was like she lost her human completely. As if she was a wolf. A normal, ordinary wolf. Her senses all tingled, telling her that the prey was right in front of her. A low grumble emerged from her throat, and she crouched even lower, and sprang on top of her prey. It struggled under her paws and she bit down hard on its neck until she heard a sickening crack. She let all her excitement show, tail wagging jumping up and down. She crouched into a playing position and looked at Aran. The wolf sat there for a moment as if he wasn't proud of her, then he jumped up and ran towards Emilia with a happy tail and panting. Emilia bound off into the woods, Aran hot on her tail. She was fast, but Aran was faster. He pounced, growling playfully at Emilia. She shuffled around to him, growling back. Aran nuzzled her playfully and she tried to nibble him in return. Emilia picked up another scent, familiar and definitely Wolfblood. She turned her head to the scent, and almost thought she saw a figure. But it moved so quickly, it must have been her imagination. Aran followed Emilia's gaze worriedly, but she saw it as a chance and pushed Aran over her with her back paws. Aran flopped to the ground by her head. Emilia quickly got up and ran off back to her rabbit. She decided she deserved to eat that. Aran came back looking mildly impressed. Emilia let her tail wag and gave Aran the equivalent of a smile in wolf form. Aran had to give into it a bit while she ate her reward. He imagined what she had gone through. Happy for thirteen years of her life, but then scarred for life, memories wanted to be forgotten that stayed. The physical pain she went through. The mental and emotional pain she still did. Aran imagined losing his parents, who were still with the wild pack, and then stopped himself. It was something he didn't want. As an adult, Aran couldn't imagine losing his parents, but Emilia had, and she was still so young. It was the trauma of losing her parents and the fire that had changed her from a cub to a wolf. She was strong, maybe even stronger than anyone. And suddenly, almost as if it hit him in the face, Aran realised Emilia had a destiny that no other Wolfblood could quite deal with.

And Aran was ready to help her with that. If Emilia was going to become who he suddenly knew her to be, she was going to need everyone to help. Even if it wasn't the help anyone expected.

BREAK

"You didn't hurt yourself hunting, did you, Tame?" Llywd, one of the cubs said sniggering. He was about the same age as Emilia, and he really didn't like her. It was only because Emilia came from the human world. Llywd disliked humans a lot for a reason Emilia didn't want to ask. She guessed it was probably something she didn't want to know about anyway.

"No, actually. But my eyes are hurting now," She said, giving Llywd a sarcastic look. It took him a second to work out what she meant.

"Real funny, human. I wouldn't be saying that if I were you. You know, with that little mark which ruins the picture completely," He laughed back. Emilia knew she walked herself into that, but it still angered her enough to yellow her eyes and blacken her veins. Snarling and growling at Llywd, she grabbed him by the collar of his clothes and pushed him up against a tree. He snarled back, eyes yellow and veins blackening. Sometimes he forgot Emilia could transform and he couldn't.

"I walked through fire, Llywd! I conquered my fear of fire. I can transform! What can you do? What do you have that I don't?!" Emilia was slowly losing control of her wolf. Llywd snarled, and then grinned.

"I have parents." That one sentence changed everything. Emilia roared at Llywd. The world became blurred and it starting spinning. Her vision turned red. The next thing she remembered was everything going dark, and then gone.

BREAK

Emilia awoke in her tent. Her head pounded, as if she'd hit a wall with it several times. She groaned and stood up, just as Aran came into the tent carrying something that smelled like one of the potions.

"What's that? What happened?" She mumbled, mind foggy like a dark moon.

"You attacked Llywd. You transformed, but you wasn't controlling yourself. You would have killed him, if I hadn't of knocked you unconscious. Unfortunately, you now have a bump on your head," He said, very calm. Somehow, he always managed to remain calm for Emilia, "And this is a healing remedy. It will help your headache." Emilia remembered what Llywd had said and let her eyes go yellow. She started growling as she prepared to leave the tent to go and put him out of his misery. Aran held her back.

"Stop! Doing this will get you thrown out of the pack for sure! Llywd's parents hate you now!" He struggled against her grip. Emilia, ignoring the pounding in her head, replied,

"I don't care! He deserves everything he gets from me!"

"I know! But think, OK? During the Rite, you can do whatever you like to him! Just wait. OK?" Aran didn't want her to hurt him, but he understood. Emilia pushed him away and nodded, still furious.

Oh, she'd get revenge on him for sure. He hadn't seen what she could do. All she had to do was wait. All revenge plans were best served cold. Llywd wouldn't know what hit him.


End file.
